


The Long Game

by anne_ammons



Series: Drabbles for Fairest of the Rare - Lovefest 2020 [1]
Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: Comfort, F/M, Friendship, Pining
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-02-14
Updated: 2020-02-14
Packaged: 2021-02-27 20:41:13
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 590
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22721860
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/anne_ammons/pseuds/anne_ammons
Summary: Until she's ready, he'll wait.
Relationships: Hermione Granger/Neville Longbottom
Series: Drabbles for Fairest of the Rare - Lovefest 2020 [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1633945
Comments: 10
Kudos: 44
Collections: Love Fest 2020





	The Long Game

**Author's Note:**

  * For [Silver Lioness (Rumpels_Darker_Dearie)](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Rumpels_Darker_Dearie/gifts), [Entwinedlove](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Entwinedlove/gifts).



> Here's a little drabble for #lovefest2020.

Neville looked down at the sleeping girl curled up next to him. He kept stroking her hair, careful not to tangle his fingers in her curls, lest he wake her. He was glad that she had finally cried herself out. She had finally had fallen asleep.

He let his eyes wander, tracking down her shoulder to where her shirt lay slightly askew. He could just see the hint of her baby blue bra and the swell of her breast. His eyes drifted lower, to her backside, pressed against his leg. He pressed his leg just a little more firmly against her and listened for her breathing. It didn’t change. She was breathing evenly, unlike when she had shown up at his doorstep and fallen into his arms.

He knew who it was when he had heard the knock. It was too late for anyone else. Her date hadn’t gone well. Again. He could have told her that Fitch-Fletchley was a prat. He had tried to, but she insisted it was worth a try — that it was worth going on a date that they both knew wouldn’t end so well.

He had brought her back to his room as she cried and cried. He didn’t need to say anything. He just needed to be here for her. Eventually, she would tell him what had happened, but it didn’t matter to him, as long as it didn’t end with Neville having to hex the bloke. And he would do it… had done it before when someone had overstepped their bounds.

See, here was the thing about Hermione. Neville knew it, even if she didn’t. She was extremely loyal, but it took a while for her to trust. It took a while for her to open up. Their friendship was based on years and years of trust, starting from that first day on the Hogwarts Express.

He had been there through the Ron phase, through Cormac’s advances, and even an ill-advised dalliance with Malfoy. He had lasted through the one-offs and the on-again, off-agains. But, she always came back to him to pick up the pieces. Always came back to him when the world didn’t make sense.

He muttered a spell to turn out the light and laid down next to her on his bed. He spooned himself around her, careful to position himself so she couldn’t feel *exactly* how he felt about her, and draped an arm over her protectively.

Yes, he had been there through the others, and while they were gone, he was still here.

When she woke up, he would listen and console. He would run a warm bath for her while he ran to the bakery to grab her favorite pastry and coffee for them both. He would leave clothes out for her to put on once she was ready — her favorite old t-shirt and a pair of his joggers that were too big for her, but that she insisted on wearing. He would hand her one of the innumerable hair ties she had already left at his house when she asked.

He knew he would always be there for her. And one day, she would realize exactly all that that meant.

He smiled as he heard her sigh in her sleep and snuggle closer to him, relishing the feel of her body next to his. For now, he would take what he could get. In time, it would become more. He was sure of it. If nothing else, Neville Longbottom knew how to play the long game.


End file.
